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Wooster Science Cafe Kicks Off Sept. 26 at First Amendment Public House

From the threat of global pandemics to the life-saving promise of the human genome
project, Wooster’s first-ever Science Café will offer insights and lively conversation
with scientists from The College of Wooster and The Ohio State University — all in
plain English — at the First Amendment Public House, 150 W. Liberty St., in Wooster.

WOOSTER, Ohio, Sept. 16, 2013 – From the threat of global pandemics to the life-saving
promise of the human genome project, Wooster’s first-ever Science Café will offer
insights and lively conversation with scientists from The College of Wooster and The
Ohio State University — all in plain English — at the First Amendment Public House,
150 W. Liberty St., in Wooster.

Each presenter will provide a brief introduction to the evening’s topic and then facilitate
a discussion.

Dr. Lonnie King, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at OSU, will kick off the series on Thursday,
Sept. 26, at 7 p.m., with a look at “The Perfect Microbial Storm: Our Unprecedented
Global Challenge.” Dr. King will explore the ways in which an increasingly interconnected
world creates new and potentially deadly dynamics among people, animals, and microbes.

Marne Titchenell, wildlife program specialist at The Ohio State University Extension, will address
“White Nose Syndrome: A Deadly Disease of Bats,” on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. In
just six winters, this disease has spread to 22 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces,
causing mortality rates of 90 to 100 percent among cave-hibernating bats. Titchenell
will discuss what is known about WNS, the economic and ecological benefits of the
bat populations being decimated by it, and how landowners can help Ohio bats.

Dr. William Morgan, professor of biology at The College of Wooster, will wrap up the series on Thursday,
Nov. 21, at 7 p.m., with “The Human Genome Gets Personal.” The human genome is like
an immense cookbook, filled with all the recipes needed to make a human being, but
each individual’s personal copy of that cookbook is different. As science’s ability
to read each individual copy becomes more sophisticated, it holds the promise of providing
insights into a host of personal health issues, from the prospects of developing a
particular disease to likely responses to therapeutic drugs.

Science cafes are grassroots events that have sprung up all over the world, bringing
together scientists and non-scientists in casual settings for lively, engaging conversation
on scientific topics of interest. Wooster’s inaugural science café is co-sponsored
by The College of Wooster and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center
of The Ohio State University.